Punishment
"Why aren't you here again today?!"
The next day, Eris had run herself ragged getting to the training grounds — only to find Ricarton nowhere in sight.
"Ah, well… that is… the Commander has been locked in the underground dungeon as punishment for yesterday's mission failure."
"What? Prison?"
Eris blankly echoed the Imperial Guard knight's careful answer. Prison, all of a sudden? By their own accounts, the underground dungeon was reserved for only the most heinous of criminals.
"Th-then… you're saying my teacher is a criminal now? An extreme one?"
"…"
"…"
Looking at the stricken faces of the Imperial Guard knights, Eris forced a laugh.
"Ha! The Escort Chief's only job is protecting Her Majesty, and he couldn't even manage that one duty properly. Tsk, tsk."
At this rate, she wouldn't even need to dirty her own hands. He'd be executed long before she got the chance.
"…"
And yet — for some reason — saying it didn't make Eris feel particularly glad.
Word that the Empress's Escort Chief had allowed an unidentified Black Knight to breach the palace would spread in an instant, so Seriel had no choice but to hand down a formal punishment. That was why Ricarton had been locked in the underground dungeon.
And the rumor spread even faster than expected.
"The Escort Chief truly is nowhere to be seen."
In the Imperial Palace's grand council chamber, the assembled nobles looked up at the Empress and murmured among themselves. In place of Escort Chief Ricarton, who had always stood ramrod-straight at her back, the Commander of the Imperial Knights now stood instead.
"Isn't that how it ought to be?"
"Indeed. Guarding Her Majesty's back suits a noble knight commander far better than some man of unknown origin."
"Quite so."
Whether they belonged to the anti-Empress faction or the pro-Empress faction, the nobles sneered and celebrated Ricarton's absence. From a noble's perspective, watching a commoner steadily climb the ranks and plant himself so firmly at Seriel's side had been deeply galling. Above all, they could not stand the way a mere commoner held his head high in front of them.
"Fortunate, really. I hear their side was pushing a marriage arrangement to make him a noble."
"Heh heh — and to think he'd trip himself up like this. That's commoners for you."
Of course, every whisper of it reached Seriel's ears.
Nothing but idiots.
She was not pleased. Not with the ones standing against her, and not with the ones standing behind her. Every last one of them only wanted to take what was hers.
"Order."
At the Chancellor's word from the dais below Seriel, the nobles fell silent as one.
"Hear this, my lords. Only yesterday, an unidentified Black Knight approached Her Imperial Majesty the Empress. Escort Chief Ricarton has been imprisoned in the underground dungeon for the crime of failing to prevent the intruder's approach—"
"—The Black Knight confessed of his own accord that he placed a curse upon Her Majesty—"
"—Furthermore, a full investigation of every noble within Adelin will be conducted to determine any connection to the Black Knight."
The nobles stirred in alarm.
"Wh-what is the meaning of this?!"
"Are you saying you suspect us?"
"I shall explain."
The Chancellor cleared his throat and continued.
"The Black Knight appeared in the World Garden, a place sealed by a barrier that none but the Imperial bloodline may enter. Very few know of that location or how to access it. The investigation will begin with those individuals. Should the culprit not be found among them, other noble houses will be examined as well. Anyone found to have aided the Black Knight will face the extreme penalty."
"…!!"
"Therefore, those with no connection to the Black Knight need only continue their daily lives as usual and cooperate faithfully with the investigation."
It was a warning: anyone who crossed the Empress would be tied to the Black Knight and eliminated.
So the Empress is finally declaring war.
No one could stop her now that she had justification on her side. So much as a single misstep, and one could be linked to the heinous criminal who had cursed the Empress — and lose one's head.
Ricarton's name no longer left the nobles' lips. Instead, they busied themselves talking about the Black Knight and proving they had nothing to do with him.
Clank—.
I walked out of the dungeon half a day after being locked up.
"Ugh, I'm all stiff."
Sitting still in a cell was even worse than standing still behind Seriel.
The moment I stepped into the Imperial Guard building tucked in a corner of the palace, the guards came running out barefoot.
"Commander!"
"Commander, are you all right?"
"My heart nearly stopped!"
"Hahaha. I thought I was a dead man myself."
Had I ever been surrounded by women fretting over me like this before? I was more convinced than ever that restricting the Imperial Guard to women only had been the right call.
"Her Highness Princess Eris was very worried about you."
"Hm? The Princess?"
"Yes. For the past two days she's been asking why her teacher wasn't there, looking for you."
"Ah."
I'd already skipped three days of lessons. That meant three fewer days of legally thrashing and rolling the princess around.
I figured she'd be happy about missing class, but she's got a surprisingly diligent streak.
I turned to my vice commander, Belante.
"Starting tomorrow, can you take over the Princess's lessons?"
"Pardon? What about you, Commander?"
"I've got more punishment coming…"
I let my shoulders sag, and a wave of pitying looks poured over me.
The other punishment Seriel handed down after releasing me half a day later:
"Cough, cough. Stay out of sight for a while."
"Pardon?"
"I said stay out of sight. Making me repeat myself twice, are you?"
Seriel reached for the whip beside her, so I hurriedly nodded.
"Ah — yes, ma'am."
Which is why I was currently outside Adelin. I'd considered holing up at my uncle's place, but Uncle was the Northern Grand Duke's man. Word that I was lounging around there would inevitably reach Adelin's nobles through the Northern Grand Duke.
So I chose the Volcanic Region. My plan was to absorb fire-attribute mana from the Spirit Cave hidden somewhere in this place and then head back. I'd visited several times before, and every single trip had been a bust.
The Ten Thousand Year Ice Cave hidden in the North always had a guardian, so you knew the moment its door opened. This place was different. Lava flowed like rivers and the blackened earth radiated searing heat — no one in their right mind would live here.
No people, but plenty of magical beasts. Lizards, drakes, and manticores roasting themselves in the lava as if it were a hot spring. In the sky: fire birds, garudas, red wyverns… and even Red Dragons.
"Ugh, what a nightmare."
Dodging the upper-tier beasts that swarmed like goblins, I climbed to the volcano's mid-slope. The magic circles I'd marked on previously searched zones were still intact. Even with mana steeped in extreme cold circulating through my body, the heat pressed in. The volcano's warmth seeped into my skin.
"So this is where it was hiding."
After wandering for a long while, I found a gap where black rocks fit together unnaturally. This had to be the entrance leading into the volcano's heart. I carved a teleportation circle in front of it.
After carefully reinforcing it so the volcano's mana and the beasts' mana wouldn't erase it, I found a nearby rock and sat down. I intended to acclimate my body to the heat-laden mana of this place before the door opened.
Just as my circuits had frozen solid in the Ten Thousand Year Ice Cave, barging in unprepared and getting my body burned would be a disaster. Of course, as a 6th Core knight and 6th Class mage I wasn't going to die — but I had no interest in scorching my circuits and wasting a once-a-year opportunity.
There it is again.
Midway through my breathing exercises, I felt a tremor similar to the one I'd sensed in the North. A fraction stronger than what I'd felt up there.
…This isn't about to erupt, is it?
The thought that it might be a precursor to a volcanic eruption made my body tense.
At least wait until I've finished refining the mana before you blow.
With that prayer, I focused on the refining process.
Three weeks passed that way.
I had developed enough fire resistance that the Volcanic Region's heat now felt merely pleasantly warm. And then—
Rumble, rumble—…
At last, the door opened.
Whoosh!
A blast of superheated wind that had been sealed inside surged out at the same time.
This is no joke.
Even for me as I was now, the heat was staggering. If I hadn't spent three weeks absorbing this place's mana, I would have been flash-grilled into dried squid in an instant.
Lucky break.
If the door had opened three weeks ago, I would have had to turn around empty-handed. I stepped through the open doorway and descended a long, sloping passage.
At the end, just like the Ten Thousand Year Ice Cave, the tunnel opened into a cavern. Massive pillars rose throughout the vast chamber, and magma bubbled and seethed beneath them.
Sizzle—.
A bead of sweat that had formed on my chin evaporated before it could hit the floor. I'd thought I was past sweating, but my face was already soaked.
I settled onto the flattest, widest pillar.
"Hooo…"
The cold-tinged breath I exhaled scattered instantly.
Ghhhk…!
The air I drew in was scorching. The mana flooding my lungs felt ready to set them ablaze. I activated all six Cores. As the heat-saturated mana circulated through my body, every drop of moisture inside me seemed on the verge of boiling away.
My breath came as short as if I'd just sprinted flat-out. I wanted nothing more than to open my mouth and dump the air out.
But I couldn't. Doing so would incinerate my windpipe and esophagus in an instant. Right now, opening my mouth wouldn't release breath — it would spew fire.
"Ssss… fwoooo…"
How much time passed?
"Haaah, haaah…"
Thankfully, the sweating stopped just before dehydration set in. I had succeeded in claiming half the cavern's mana as my own.
"Holy shit — I shoved in this much and there's still half left?"
Flap, flap—.
A sudden sound from above made me look up. Far in the distance, a massive shadow was descending from the volcano's crater.
"To think a human would dare invade this body's dwelling."
A Fire Dragon. A Red Dragon.
Coming face-to-face with the master of this mountain, I trembled — in a good way.
In my current state… I might actually be able to go toe-to-toe with a dragon?
Since Seriel had become Empress, there hadn't been any real life-or-death fights — just the occasional large beast to put down, or sparring with Rubellion. The Commander of the Imperial Knights seemed to dislike me enough that he never wanted to spar.
So I'd been curious how much stronger I'd become. And having just absorbed this place's mana on top of everything else, maybe I'd finally reached a dragon's level.
…I retracted that foolish thought immediately.
Flap, flap—.
Flap, flap, flap—.
"…"
There wasn't just one Red Dragon. Dozens of dragons, large and small, settled onto the pillars one by one.
"Wait — aren't dragons supposed to live alone?"
"What nonsense is that."
"Just talking to myself. Hahaha. I'll be going now."
Trusting the old saying that you can't spit fire at a smiling face, I turned with a grin — only for pillars of magma to erupt all around me.
"It's been a while since I've had human meat so rich in mana."
"I taste terrible."
And on top of that—
Rumble, rumble…
"Oh, fuck."
I heard the door sealing shut. Completely surrounded. Literally mountain-locked, in a mountain.
"Hunt him down, my children."
"KRAAAAH—!!"
My legs shook under the Dragon Fear, but I forced them to move and ran. Magma whips lashed at my back; I cleaved them apart with my sword and ran, and ran again.
Just before the door fully closed, I shoved myself forward with wind magic and managed to burst free of the volcano. Behind me came the sound of the pursuing dragons ramming their heads into the sealed door — like magpies ringing a bell with their skulls.
"Guess they can't open the door either."
I was just patting my rattled chest when—
Flap, flap—.
That terrifying wingbeat returned.
"Ah. The crater."
There was another entrance. Just before the breath they unleashed with jaws wide open could reach me, I hastily used teleportation.
Meanwhile, Eris — who had come running the moment she heard of his release — was once again furious at the still-absent Ricarton.
"No, whyyyyyy—!!!"
Belante watched her and sighed inwardly.
…She looks ready to breathe fire from her mouth.
Ricarton stayed gone for three full weeks. And by the time he finally returned, Eris really had learned to breathe fire.